Van Nuys Auto Repair & Service Center

Most people in the Los Angeles area are aware that automotive manufactruers have recommended service intervals. Following recommended service intervals is very important. The engineers that design our vehicles have tested the various systems and components to meet durability and safety standards. Some of these standards are self-imposed and others, like those for emissions components, are government mandated for the areas around Sherman Oaks, Encino and Tarzana in CA. The maintenance schedules are designed to achieve the standards. Think of the benefits of following recommended intervals as falling into three general categories: Protection, Efficiency and Safety.Protection. Let's start with motor oil. First of all, the engineers recommend a particular weight and type of motor oil for your sedan. All of their oil change recommenda ... read more

This fuel saving tip is so simple, no one from here to Encino will believe it. It has to do with your gas cap. The first thing is to make sure it's screwed on tight. If it's loose, gas vapor will be constantly leaking out; wasted gas. And air will get in and that can cause your oxygen sensor to read incorrectly and the oxygen sensor will tell the engine management computer to adjust the fuel-air mix and, well, you get the pictrue; you'll be burning more gas around Encino than you need to. This could cause the check engine light to come on as well. A worn gas cap can have the same effect. If you constantly smell gas when you walk by your tank, you might need a new gas cap. So, twist your cap until it clicks three times – that means it's on tight. Have your Encino area service advisor at AutoAid & Rescue ... read more

The government mandates a lot of equipment on cars in Van Nuys Ca: emission devices and control computers, safety equipment like airbags and crash worthiness requirements. All of this is great for the Van Nuys Ca motoring public, but it does add quite a bit to the price of a new car....click to view video: http://autoaid.autotipsblog.com/2010/03/23/maintaining-your-older-car-in-van-nuys-ca

Today we're talking about shocks and struts. They're so easy to forget about because they last so long and wear out so slowly. But your shocks are really responsible for keeping your tires on the road – so they're very important. Without shocks, your wheels would be bouncing over bumps and lifting in corners. The shocks push the tire down to the road to maximize traction. Good shocks equal good ride quality and safe handling. There's a difference between shocks and springs. Springs support the weight of the vehicle, keeping it suspended up off the axels. The shocks moderate the rebound motion as wheels hit bumps. Now a strut combines a shock and a coil spring in one compact unit. When your shocks are worn out you may notice degraded handling as you drive around our Van Nuys streets. Your vehicle feels squirmy around corners and floaty over bumps. You may notice the rea ... read more

Everyone in Van Nuys CA eventually replaces their tires, whether it's because they're worn out or they're just looking for something different. There are so many great tire choices in Van Nuys CA, it can be difficult to sort them out. Let's group the broad spectrum into several categories that will help in the selection process. One category is often referred to as "summer tires". Summer tires are designed to be driven on the road when temperatrues are generally above 45 degrees. Their tread design is optimized for traction on dry roads in Van Nuys CA and they're also able to effectively displace water on rainy roads. Now the rubber compound gets a little hard and stiff as temperatrues drop below 45 degrees as it occasionally does here in Van Nuys CA. And the tread which handles dry roads so well, can get packed with snow or mud – which provides very little traction in ... read more

Under-inflated tires waste gas for lots of folks in the Sherman Oaks area. Think how hard it is to walk in sand – you just have to work harder because of the resistance. When your tires don't have enough air in them, their rolling resistance is dramatically increased and it simply takes more gas to get from Van Nuys to Sherman Oaks. Always check your tire pressure when you gas up at one of our local Sherman Oaks service stations. If they're low – even just a little bit – bring them up to proper pressure. There's a sticker on the inside of your driver's door that gives the manufactruer's recommended tire pressure. And don't rely on your tire pressure monitoring system to alert you to when you need more air. The TPMS system is set to warn you when pressure drops twenty percent below recommendations. That's severely under inflated and you neede ... read more

The function of the fuel filter is pretty self-explanatory. It filters your fuel. The fuel filter is in the fuel line somewhere in between the fuel tank and the engine. Both gas and diesel vehicles around Van Nuys CA use fuel filters. Generally speaking there's not a lot of dirt in our Van Nuys CA auto fuel supply, but there is enough that you want to screen it out. The problem actually gets worse the older your vehicle becomes. That's because dirt, rust and other contaminants will settle out of the fuel and onto the bottom of the fuel tank. After your sedan is five years or older, it can actually have a fair amount of sediment built up. That just means that the fuel filter has to work harder as your sedan ages. It'll get clogged sooner and need to be replaced more often. A symptom of a clogged fuel filter is that the engine sputters at highway speeds or under hard acceleration. That's because enough fuel is gett ... read more

No matter how well they're made, cars in Van Nuys CA will have design or manufacturing problems. And when the government thinks a problem is really serious for people in Van Nuys CA, they require the manufactruer to issue a recall notice and fix the car free of charge. The manufactruer then tries to contact everyone in Van Nuys CA who owns that type of car to get the recall work done. These recalls always affect safety, so take them seriously. It's easy to see if a vehicle's being recalled. The government has links on its websites, or just visit AutoNetTV for links. There are many websites with free recall information and searches. There's CarFax, AutoByTel and the DMV. Recalls are serious, but ... read more

If you've ever been driving around Van Nuys and had a headlamp go out, you've probably just wanted to replace the bad bulb. If your car uses halogen headlamps, they dim over time. So if you just put in one, they won't have the same brightness which can be distracting and will affect your field of vision. To have your headlights inspected, visit us at AutoAid & Rescue. We're at 14526 Erwin Street in Van Nuys, CA 91411. Or give us a call at 818-901-1113 Experts in Van Nuys recommend replacing your halogen headlamps every year. It's easy to remember if you do it when daylight savings time changes in the fall. That way you'll have bright headlamps for those long Van Nuys winter nights. There are other types of headlamps in addition to halogen. There are the old standard bulbs that have been around for decades. These are OK, but you can usually upgrade to halogen. They cost a little more but you can't ... read more

The cooling system keeps our engine from overheating while you are driving around Van Nuys CA. Its job is to move heat away from the engine. Let's talk about the various components of the system and how they work to accomplish this. The radiator is the part most everyone associates with the cooling system. Coolant flows through the radiator which has fine cooling fins that draw the heat out of the coolant and dissipate it into the air. To make sure there's enough airflow over the radiator, a fan pulls air over the cooling fins even when the car is idling. In some vehicles, the fan is powered by the serpentine belt. On others, an electric motor runs the fan. Electric fans turn on and off as needed. You may have heard the fan kick on shortly after you turn your car off. The sensor has determined that the engine needs a little help cooling down to a safe temperatrue ... read more